Can Bipolar Disorders Be Treated With Hypnosis?

Bipolar is a mood disorder that affects nearly 10 million people in America. There are a wide variety of treatment methods for bipolar disorder ranging from traditional medication management and psychotherapy to less traditional methods such as hypnosis.

Evidence and Effectiveness

• Hypnosis as treatment has not been tested to date. There may be some effectiveness due to the "placebo" effect. One possible advantage of hypnosis is that if it proves to be ineffective, it will not lead to any short or long term drawbacks, other than loss of money.

Nature of Bipolar

• Bipolar disorder is a genetic disorder. It may even be coupled with other signs and symptoms of mental illnesses, such as psychosis or schizophrenia. Hypnosis is mainly known as a way to treat certain behaviors, however it cannot manipulate genes.

The Use of Subliminal Therapy

• Alternatively, some groups view bipolar as being associated with certain cognitive deficiencies, which---according to certain practitioners---is something that has the possibility of being overcome by hypnosis. Hypnosis can help build the ability to relax as well as disabling some of the cycling of anxiety and depression.

What is Hypnosis

• Hypnosis is an altered trance state where attention is focused and heightened and peripheral events are partially or completely ignored.

Indications for Medical Hypnosis

• Some indications that may relate to bipolar could be pain during a highly depressed state, episodes of heightened anxiety during mania, interrupting a strong emotional state, and psychotic disorders. While hypnosis may not be a preferred form of primary treatment, it may be helpful in interrupting a strong emotional state so that other therapeutic interventions may be more effective.